21 characters that were inspired by real-life people

By Moran Sapir, Published on Jul 22, 2018

One of the best things in life is art. It’s a way for people to express thoughts, ideas, feelings, and social commentary. Creating art requires inspiration, whether it’s writing, painting, sculpting, or even preparing artistic meals. And while inspiration can come from many different places, but it mostly comes from life itself.

Even the most imaginative thing we can muster up to write about, it will always be drawn from our past experiences. It can be something we once saw on television, things we witnessed other people do, things we did ourselves. Even fictional characters like Count Dracula and Nemo the animated fish have human characteristics, like fear, compassion, cruelty (well, maybe not Nemo), and other qualities that make them human.

When you think about, every creation is actually a depiction of the human experience. And as humans do, we observe other people. So it would be inevitable that if we were to create something, we would draw from what we’ve observed and put it to paper in some way or another. But some characters aren’t just a collection of the writer’s experience; they are actually based on a real person – one person who was compelling enough to be made into a character.

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Most of us lead quiet lives, without becoming famous or making a huge impression on the world, but only the people around us. And still, if someone who knows us ever writes for a TV show, we might find ourselves becoming a part of it without ever meaning to. But when a person is famous or renowned for something they do, the chances are even higher to have a piece of artwork loosely based on their lives.

The reason for this is that sometimes, reality exceeds all imagination. Stories you hear about which happened in real life can make you awe in amazement or make your skin crawl, far more than any piece of fiction can. It’s not only the fact that reality is greater than anything we can muster up in our heads. But when you know the story you’re reading or watching is real, it affects you in a much deeper way.

Some of these characters are known to be based on real-life people, and some aren’t exactly famous for it. Some of the people who had a character based on them went on to exploiting this fact, while some denied anything to do with the character’s personality. While some were based solely on looks, others drew from the person’s traits or their real-life stories. Either way, the resemblance between them is undeniable, which makes the story itself far more interesting.